A disturbance branching out with time, and at long time is localized on a field pattern. One may think of currents flowing along these lines and branching. Credit: Ornella Mattei. University of Utah mathematicians propose a theoretical framework to understand how waves and other disturbances move through materials in conditions that vary in both space…
Rorschach’s Blot Seven is shown at the top (a). Note the tell-tale fractal signatures of irregular curves or shapes at the edges of the symmetrical image. Some people see a woman’s head with a ponytail. Below (b) the inkblot has been altered with the fractal borders removed. The ability to see hidden patterns is reduced.…
Hans Rosling: presenter of the facts. Credit: Neil Fantom/flickr, CC BY I first came across Hans Rosling’s work while I was trying to make mathematics students fall in love with statistics. His TED talks are inspirational since they present data in new and dynamic ways, but not just that, they’re also educational and eye-opening. Rosling…
“Bright but poor” children in Britain are lagging years behind their better-off peers in educational achievement, a report has found, despite producing world-leading performances in certain subjects. An analysis of the OECD’s programme for international student assessment (Pisa) found that pupils in the top 10% for attainment but bottom 10% by income – classed as…
Credit: Scott Meltzer/public domain Traffic modeling has been of interest to mathematicians since the 1950s. Research in the area has only grown as road traffic control presents an ever-increasing problem. Generally, models for traffic flow in road networks are time-dependent and continuous, that is, they describe traffic by a continuum rather than as individual drivers…
Konstantinos Pelechrinis. Credit: University of Pittsburgh The Atlanta Falcons will defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 51. This prediction comes from a University of Pittsburgh researcher who backs his claim with seven years of National Football League (NFL) data and statistics. “Increasingly, we are seeing NFL coaches and executives embracing analytics to improve…
Study’s statistical tipping point for parent versus peer influences. Credit: Proceedings of the Royal Society A Newsflash for American high school students—choose friends wisely, or they may end up costing you your education. In fact, new mathematical modeling from Arizona State University, Northeastern Illinois University, and the University of Texas at Arlington documents the exact…
I’m sure there’s an equation for this… Credit: Shutterstock Mazes are in vogue at the moment, from NBO’s Westworld, to the return of the British cult TV series, The Crystal Maze. But mazes have been around for millennia and one of the most famous mazes, the Labyrinth home of the Minotaur, plays a starring role…
A raindrop is a sphere. It may not look like it, what with its pointy head and rounded bottom, but it is. Fractional calculus can prove it. Fractional calculus is concerned not only with how quickly and to what extent change develops, but also in what order it advances. This is math with memory. It…
Improving cocoa yields for the chocolate industry, estimating the quality of meat in pigs and refining the design of a hydroponics system, were three farming challenges tackled by academics at a recent workshop hosted by the University of Bath’s Institute for Mathematical Innovation (IMI). The Agri-Food Study Group brought together over 40 mathematicians, engineers and…